Folding coop



(Hommel.)

' W. H. CADWELL. 4 Foldingn Coop, NQ. 236,775.

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5o upon the bottom.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. CADWELL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

FOLDING COOP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Iatent No. 236,775, dated January 18, 1881.

.Application ledDecember 6,1880. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: f

Beit known that I, WILLIAM H. CADWELL, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Folding Coops, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to improvements in folding coops designed for the transportation of poultry; and the same consists in the novel construction, arrangement, and combination of the several parts of the coop, by which I am enabled to fold the same, when not in use, into a close, compact form, and to readily erect the same into a strong rigid coop, without the use of any hooks or fastenin gs, either when erected or folded. The sides of the coop are hinged to the bottom so as to fold inward and lie flat upon the bottom, and the ends also are hinged so as to fold inward and lie Ilat on top of the folded sides, while the telescoping slat top, which is hinged to the folding ends of the coop, shuts in upon itself and occupies the space on top of the folded sides between the folded ends. When erected, the hinged ends of the coop are held rigid from falling inward by the sides of the coop, which fit inside the same, and from moving outward by the tensile strain of the telescoping top 5 and the hinged sides are held in an upright position on the outside by a flange or strap attached to the end pieces and on the inside by a shoulder on a crosspiece extending across the telescopingtop near its middle, at which point the top may be slightly raised or sprung up to permit the folding and unfolding of the sides.

In the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification, Figure l is a perspective view of a device embodying my invention. Fig. 2 isalike view, showing the same folded. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on line 3 of Fig. l, and Fig. 4 is a vertical section on line 4 of Fig. 3.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts.

In said drawings, A represents the bottom of the coop, of any ordinary construction. The folding sides Bare hinged to the rails b, which are attached to the bottom at its side edges, so that the sides B may be folded llat The folding ends C are hinged at c to the rigid endpieces, c', attached to the bottom at its ends, which are of such height that when the ends are folded inward they will lie at upon the folded sides. The inner top edge of the end pieces, c', is beveled off so as to permit the ends to fold, and yet, when erected, to bear or rest upon the pieces c', so that the whole weight will not come upon the pivot of the hinge, which otherwise would be liable to be broken when many coops are piled on top of each other in transporting them. The hinges c2 for the folding ends, which I make of ordinary strap-iron, project on the inside slightly over the edge of the end pieces, for the folding sides to open against.

The top of the coop is hinged at each end to the ends of the coop, and is composed of slats d and'd, arranged alternately to each other, so as to telescope or shut in upon each other when the hinged ends are folded inward.

d2 are the cross-pieces to which the slats d are secured, and d3 are the cross-pieces to which the slats d are secured.

this a movable slat, secured in place by a pin, d5, or other fastening, for the purpose of mit the folding and secure at the same time a` close joint, so that the Weight will not rest upon the hinges.

G is a cross-piece, secured to the under sides of the slats d at their ends, thus, together with the cross-piece d2, forming a guide and support for the ends of the slats d to slide in, and the ends of this cross-bar G form shoulders interiorly for the folding sides to fit against and to hold them apart. One of the upright standards g, to which the slats of the folding sides are secured, is placed near the middle, directly opposite the cross-bar G, so that the shoulderhas the upright standard for a bearin g.

In operation the folding ends are first opened, which at the same time draws out the telescoping top to its full length, and then the folding sides are opened out, the top rising or springing up at its middle enough to allow the sides to pass and drop over the shoulder or end of the cross-bar G. To fold the coop up for transportation the middle of the top is raised so as to allow the sides to be folded, and then the ends are folded down, which at IOO the same timecloses or telescopes the top down Hat upon the space between the ends of the folding ends.

Both when folded and erected my improved 5 coop is strong and rigid, so that many coops may be packed on top of each other without injury in transporting them.

What I claim is- 1. In a folding coop, the combination of the 1o bottom with inwardly-folding sides, inwardlyfoldingends, and telescoping top hinged to the folding ends, substantially as specified.

2. In combination with the bottom, the foldingsides,opening against dan ges or projections 15 on the ends of the coop and tting interiorly specified.

W. H. OADWELL. Witnesses:

EDMUND ADoocK, E. S. EvAR'rs. 

